Phil Gaimon diary

Phil Gaimon is done with pro racing, but he's got one final mission on the bike: snatching Strava KOMs, and you get to pick which ones.

Phil Gaimon announces he's retiring from professional cycling. But it isn't really going to be "retirement" exactly.

Gaimon explains why nationals gives him goose bumps, even if it isn't exactly the most "important" race of the season.

Phil Gaimon reflects on the highlights from his Amgen Tour of California, from In N Out Burger to "Cookie Corner."

Gaimon describes how it is to fight into the Roubaix break, ride the cobbles blind, crash, and eventually withdraw from the Queen of the Classics.

Phil Gaimon contends with Girona's loud church bells, enjoys a trip to Nice with his mother, and dines at the best restaurant in the world, Can Roca.

Phil Gaimon's journey to his first race of 2016, Tour de San Luis, was long and fraught, but he made the best of airplane delays and food vouchers.

Phil Gaimon returns to Slipstream's Cannondale team after a year away, with a new perspective after the loss of his father.

Optum's Phil Gaimon walks through the finer points of how to make the most of a race's breakfast buffet — always keep an eye on your toast.

Phil Gaimon opens his season at the Volta ao Algarve, getting acquainted with stray cats around town and launching attacks out on the road

Phil Gaimon writes about winter training, which included a recent mountain bike ride that left him and his bike covered in mud

Gaimon wraps up his season in Asia and then tries to avoid making eye contact with his bike during a four-week break from riding

American Phil Gaimon writes about the emotions of leaving Garmin-Sharp, and the WorldTour, to ride for Continental team Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies

Phil explains how the Tour of Utah, USA Pro Challenge, Tour of Alberta, and Canadian WorldTour races end up feeling like a grand tour

The Garmin-Sharp rider checks in as he comes off racing the Tour of Utah and prepares for the USA Pro Challenge

Gaimon isn't at the Tour, but he knows all about the nine riders Garmin brought to France

It's funny how the races you focus on and prepare for can go to hell, just like a big result can come by accident, when you least expect it

Phil Gaimon enjoyed riding past redwoods, the ocean, and more during stage 4 at the Tour of California

The Garmin-Sharp rider talks about Rohan Dennis' defeat in a team bet, which he overshadowed with a victory on Mount Diablo

Phil Gaimon recounts his day of being mistaken as a favorite by the press and his friends, and teammate Dennis' no-cussing bet

The Garmin-Sharp rider talks about a pre-race illness and a stage 1 crash that plagued the team in California

When the race starts, the public-relations storm is over, the schedules are issued, and your smart pro goes into "dumb animal mode"

The Garmin-Sharp rider writes about finishing the "longest and hardest race" he has ever done

In his latest blog, the Garmin-Sharp rider talks about settling into his new Spanish lifestyle — and getting comfortable with it all

Phil Gaimon writes about riding onto the podium at his first race as a member of Garmin-Sharp

The American rider checks in and talks about some recent experiences he had with his new teammates at Garmin-Sharp

Phil Gaimon, who will ride for Garmin-Sharp next year, talks about a recent block of hard training

Phil Gaimon gets aero with his SRM head unit at the USA Pro Challenge and sees the world's best-named tackle shop

The Bissell rider talks about the first two stages at the USA Pro Challenge, which included an unnecessary bottle run for his teammates

Phil Gaimon relays his conversations with Mount Nebo, Jens Voigt, and his legs in the Wasatch mountains

Gaimon shares his thoughts on the second stage in Utah, which featured 10,000 feet of climbing

Bissell rider talks about racing in the California heat and bumping handlebars with Tyler Farrar

Bissell rider talks about team training camp in California, taking home stuff from sponsors and drinking his favorite beverage

With support from family, friends, and his new Bissell team, "Phil the Thrill" is headed to altitude and hoping to leave a yellow jersey behind

Phil Gaimon fondly recalls some highlights with Kenda as he prepares to move to Bissell for 2013

Phil Gaimon shares his favorite #ahhffseason activities, and addresses the Armstrong Affair

Our Kenda-5-hour Energy rider checks in on late-season disappointment, a new Olympic medal system and criterium moral outrage

With amateur doping cases gaining notoriety, local racers in Florida are taking anti-doping into their own hands

The sprinters complained about the amount of climbing, but I argue it's worse for me. I'm the climber. I have to drop everyone each time.

I’m on the way back from the last race of the year, for me, and for Kenda–5 Hr-Geargrinder (as always, sorry for the mouthful, but the sponsors paid for it, so it’s the least I can do).

" ... Someone should invent an “emergency brake.” I’m not sure how it should work (I’m just the idea man), but when there is a crash in the field, there’d be nothing worse than watching it come and having no way to avoid it. Maybe if you could just pull a parachute ..."

Since my last blog entry in July, the theme of my life has been “all kitted up and nowhere to go.”

I first met Jeremy Powers in 2008, when he was living in a huge barn-looking house in Hadley, Massachusetts, with a wide assortment of cyclocross racers, amateur teammates of mine, and their significant others.

Editor's Note: Phil Gaimon, 25, is a Velo magazine columnist and third-year pro racer for Kenda-5 Hr Energy Presented by Gear Grinder. He has an English degree from the University of Florida, and owns online stores at podiumcycling.com and sharethedamnroad.com.

I’d say the main difference between Quebec and France is that when you’re driving along the Riviera, you don’t have to watch out for moose. That said, I didn’t get to see any moose this week. I was pretty sure I saw a bear win stage 6, but it turned out to be Svein Tuft.

Kenda-5 Hour Energy's Phil Gaimon knew he was in for a long day when the rumors began circulating: Portions of stage one would be neutralized, it would be shortened to a prologue, or he'd have to do the full race, and the lead moto would be replaced with a snowplow.

" Remember watching news stories of Katrina victims, staying on rows of air mattresses and cots in big, open rooms? That’s us right now: disaster relief housing. It’s no Katrina, but nine dudes in one room does qualify as a disaster."

VeloNews' newest online rider diarist is domestic pro Phil Gaimon of Kenda-Geargrinder. Gaimon already is well known to readers of VeloNews magazine as the author of one of our most popular (and funniest) features: Ask a Pro.